I Don't Have A Title Yet
by BlackCat46
Summary: It's an angsty one-shot... I don't know how to describe it. See what you think of it. (AU, OOC, some OCs.) Rated T.


(I own only plot.)

"Uncle Victor?"

Victor groaned. The young dirty blond boy had been in his home for a week and all Victor wanted was to kill him. "What are you doing, you horrible miscreant?"

"Uncle Victor, have you seen Mummy? I woke up and I can't find her."

"Your mother is probably hiding downstairs, Clarke."

The young dark blond boy squeaked out "Thank you, Uncle Victor," before rushing off to find his "mother."

The woman in question was in the laundry room. Trudy Rehman was a twenty four year old housekeeper and all she wanted in life was housework and children. She heard the pattering of her charge's small feet, before hearing him shout for her. She walked out of the laundry room and asked "Jerome, lovie, are you up?"

"Mummy!" Jerome's overjoyed scream came seconds before a tiny tornado glued itself to her legs. "Mummy, Mummy, Mummy! Where were you? I missed you!"

"I was only in the laundry room, babykins. Why would you miss me?" Trudy was laughing at Jerome, who clung tightly to her ankles.

"I couldn't see you! It was scary! I wanted cuddles, Mummy, and I didn't know where you were! I love you! Never scare me like that again!"

Trudy let out a giggle. She'd said the exact same thing to him when he'd tried to run off when he'd arrived. She'd almost gone insane when she discovered his bedroom window open and him gone. She'd caught him, lost and crying in a clearing nearby. "I won't, darling. Want me to pick you up?"

"Yes, please, Mummy."

She picked him up and hugged him, then looked at his innocent little face. She revelled in the pale skin, the chubby cheeks, the little nose, those big, blue eyes, his childish smile and perfect white teeth, the mop of dark blond curls on the top of his head, the chubby little arms and legs, how cute he looked in the blue striped shirt and the denim dungarees and his little white socks. She smiled, adoring his baby perfection. "I love you, little man."

It was difficult for her to imagine this tiny boy as anything other than the little boy she'd come to know and love. Jerome had no idea why she sounded so happy and so sad at the same time, so he said "I love you, too, Mummy."

* * *

Trudy took him with her to the shops to do the grocery run. She sat him in the trolley, smiling at him. She'd gone crazy when she'd seen the sun. She dressed him in a blue "I love my mummy" T-shirt and little denim shorts and brown sandals, but had covered every bit of exposed skin in so much suncream, he'd look like Dracula. She put a huge, shady hat on him, which fell over his face in the most adorable way. He'd push it back up and Trudy would find his baby smile far too cute to resist and couldn't help squealing. He found it hilarious that she squealed so much, so he tapped her arm while she grabbed pasta and said "Mummy, watch!"

Trudy turned and looked at him, then gasped as he pushed his hat up. "Aww, baby!" Her squeal deeply amused Jerome, who laughed at her reaction. In her eyes, he was the cutest little thing ever. She watched as Jerome's chubby little baby face appeared from under the enormous hat, his grin showing all of his perfect teeth and a dimple in each cheek, crinkling his nose a little bit and his eyes alight with the innocence, curiosity, happiness and wonder that only a child could have. She saw an adorable baby boy who she could love and cuddle forever. "Aren't you just far too precious?"

"Not as precious as you. Anyone can be cute. But it takes a lot to be so kind and pretty and gentle and take in a kid who nobody likes and love him like he's your own. You're special, Mummy. And even though I have a real mum, you're a better mummy than she ever was. I love you."

Trudy had frozen at his words. He was so grown up, for all his baby looks and delighted innocence. "Darling, that's so kind. But you know that you're loved and you're special. Don't you? You know that Victor and I wouldn't ever trade you for anything, don't you?"

"Yes, Mummy. You know that you're special for me?"

"I do now, my lovely." She hugged him tightly and felt a tear splash down her cheek. She'd never felt so loved and appreciated in her life. She wanted to give Jerome the childhood she'd had, a bright, happy childhood, filled with laughter, friendship, light, guidance and understanding and cookies. She'd had acceptance and had been spoiled from the start and nobody had ever put her down. She wanted that for Jerome. She wanted him to feel as loved as he deserved to be. As loved as he was. She wanted him to be a child for as long as possible, to enjoy being himself. "I truly love you, baby boy. Never grow up. Be my baby."

* * *

Time wore on. Jerome reached eleven, old enough to start high-school. Trudy had taught him at home for the last six years and she'd reached thirty. One evening, before the new kids arrived, Jerome dropped a bombshell on Trudy. "I think I'd like to try high school this year..."

Jerome watched Trudy's face as she swallowed a mouthful of pasta and he tried not to feel guilty as her face blanked for a moment, before being replaced with deep sadness. "Okay. If that's what you want, I'll get you enrolled."

"It's nothing to do with your teaching, you're fantastic at it. It's just... All the others will be going to the school and... I don't want them to think I'm weird or slow."

Trudy gave him a sad smile. "They wouldn't think that. You're a clever young man. And if you want to go to high school, then by all means, you can do that. It's a great idea. You can spread your wings a bit."

Jerome sensed that she didn't much like the idea. "If you don't think it's right, then I won't do it."

"No. Don't be held back by me, Jerome. I won't have it. You need to do what's right for you. I want you to be an independent man. You can choose against it if you like. Anytime in the first three months, darling. Okay? Try it. If you choose not to do it, tell me and I'll take you out and educate you here." Her voice had taken on that motherly tone that Jerome never argued with.

As it turned out, on the first day of school, Jerome was given a uniform, which Trudy had bought for him, and his lunch in a bag, alongside the others. His roommate, Alfie Lewis, asked "How long have you been here?"

"Six years." Jerome admitted, embarrassed.

"Whoa. So, like, they have a kids section?"

"No... Uh... Trudy, the housemother, she taught me. She's really nice and so patient."

"She seemed a bit on the strict side."

"She isn't. She's really nice and she's a fantastic cook. You'll see."

"Is she, like, an alien?"

"No. She's a really caring human being. You'll like her, I promise."

"Is she your mum or something?"

"Sort of. She's taken my mum's place. I love Trudy more than I do my actual mum."

"Is that possible? Why do you prefer Trudy?"

"Can we switch the subject?"

* * *

Three years of high school went on for Jerome and he found himself loving it. One evening, he walked into the kitchen for a snack and smiled at Trudy. "Hi, Trudy. You okay?"

To his surprise, she blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. She impatiently brushed it off and said, in an oddly controlled tone, "Yes, thank you, lovie. And you?"

"I'm okay. Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying."

Jerome put his bag of marshmallows down and hugged Trudy. "You are crying. Why?"

"It's nothing, darling. What are you up to with those marshmallows?"

"I was going to eat them."

"Before supper? Or are you not having supper?"

"I was planning to eat them, then have supper. I'm a growing boy. But now, I want to talk about you. What's wrong?"

Jerome would tear the world in half if it made Trudy feel better. She gave a watery chuckle and said "Never mind, sweetie. It's nothing that won't be fixed."

"Okay... But tell me if there's anything wrong, won't you, Trudy?"

"Yes, dearie." Trudy told him. Once he'd left and was out of earshot, she set the food to simmer and walked into the laundry room to cry in peace. Up until that day, in private, Jerome would have called her Mum. She felt like the tiny five year old she'd known and loved was leaving her for good and she didn't know how to cope. She didn't want to tell him about it, because she wanted him to grow up and be independent and not care about her. But she knew, deep down, that no matter what she wanted for him, that she'd always want him to rely on her.

* * *

After the Anubis kids had left, Trudy was left to her own devices in Anubis house. She never received updates on the students' lives now and she knew they'd moved on. It almost killed her to know that they no longer needed her. It had been thirty seven years now and they were well into their forties. She'd married Fabian's godfather in her late thirties and they had a daughter together, who they'd loved so much. She'd moved out twenty years before, living with her fiance and their two young children. Jasper had left her, too, telling her that, as much as he loved her, he couldn't live with her, because she had a back, hip and knee disability and it was a burden to him. She'd asked what grounds that was for leaving her, but he told her that he wasn't ending their marriage, just moving out. In her seventies now, she wasn't coping too well with anything. One late night, she was washing her dishes before bed, when she got a harsh chest pain. She gasped for a few minutes and had to sit down. "It'll be okay, I just need to breathe." She told herself, when her phone rang. "Hello?"

Jasper's voice asked "How are you, beautiful?"

"I'm okay."

"You sound like you've been punched in the chest. Are you sure you're okay? Do you need help?"

"No, no. I'm okay." She tried to reassure her husband, who constantly checked in on her, despite not wanting to live with her. He told her once that it was because seeing her pained and not letting him help was painful to him.

"If you're not, you can tell me."

"I know and I will. It's okay."

"You need to tell me if it's not."

The couple chatted for a while, the pain in Trudy's chest worsening as she started to feel nauseous and sleepy. "Honey, listen, I'm really sleepy right now and I think I may have had too much sugar. I'm going to have to go now. I'll call you in the morning."

"Alright, gorgeous lady. I look forward to hearing your lovely voice again soon."

Trudy gasped in agony as she stood. "Oh, God, there goes the back!"

"Aw, love, do you need me to come over?"

"No, sweetie, it's okay. I deal with this all the time. I'll take a paracetamol."

"You're sure you don't want me to help?"

One step had her light-headed and gasping. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure... Oh, God..."

"Darling, you don't sound okay. I'm on my way over."

"Don't! I'm really okay. I think I may have a bug or something. I'm fine. Just sleep, okay? Don't you worry over me. It's alright."

She noticed that she was sweating a little and she was breathing badly. Jasper said "It's not a crime to worry about the woman I love. I'm coming to see you."

"Don't, really. I look disgusting. Like... Worse than morning sickness, disgusting."

"I don't care. You're always beautiful to me."

"I care, alright? You haven't seen me in days. You don't know if I'm beautiful or I'm beastly. Just don't get yourself up unnecessarily."

"It isn't unnecessary if you're not well. Are you sure you don't want me to come over?"

"I'm sure. Get some rest, honey. I love you."

"If you're absolutely sure, then. Call me if you need help. If it gets terrible, call an ambulance. I love you, darling Trudy."

"Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight, love."

Trudy got to the bathroom before she was violently sick. She felt worse after that and went to the kitchen for water. Her chest tightened and she gasped, collapsing onto the kitchen floor. She pulled the phone to her as it rang and picked up with a shaky "Hello?"

A voice she hadn't heard in the last thirty seven years asked "Is this Trudy?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"You haven't forgotten me, have you, Trudykins?"

"Jerome?"

"The one and only. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. Are you? How's the..." She gasped for a second, before continuing "... Family?"

"Good, yeah. You're not alright, are you? Is Jasper with you? Is anyone with you?"

"No, I'm alone. I'm alright, honestly. I just have a bug. Not a problem."

" _Jerome, hang up and come to bed._ "

"Trudy, call someone. You need to get some medical attention. You're not well."

"I'm fine, fusspot. Bed. Now. I love you, sweet pea. Night night."

Obediently, Jerome hung up, worried sick for Trudy. In both Jerome and Jasper's homes, neither one could sleep. Both of them planned to go and see to her when the sun came up. Meanwhile, Trudy lay weakly on the floor of her kitchen, gasping for air. _(I'm dying... I'm sure of it... This must be a heart attack... Oh, my God... I let them think that I'd be alive to call tomorrow... I can't... I need to... Oh, my God... I have to at least tell Jasper that I won't be calling him... Phone... I need the-)_

* * *

She never did reach the phone. The next morning, her husband walked in at the crack of dawn. "Darling? Are you here? Are you okay? Is everything alright? Are you awake?"

No response. There was a click behind him and he turned, hoping to see his wife. To his disappointment, it was Jerome, come to see Trudy. "Hey, Jasper. Where's Trudy?"

"I have no idea. I was looking for her."

The duo went through the beautifully kept house. Jerome wandered into the kitchen and tripped over something tiny, slim and solid. He turned and stood, then spotted the feet. He moved a little further across the kitchen and saw the nightdress. With a feeling of dread, he walked across the room a little more. Then he saw her. Her hair greying slightly, lay flat on her front, her hair over her face, unmoving. Jerome knelt next to her and touched her shoulder. "Trudy?" She was icy cold and had been there overnight. "Um. Jasper? I found her!"

Jasper came rushing in. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's here and she's long past not okay..." Jerome's voice held agony and he couldn't believe the sight.

Jasper gently picked his wife's cold body up and turned her over. Her eyes had shut and her face had slipped into a calm expression. He looked at her unmoving face before realising the worst and gently placing his hand on her ribcage and feeling nothing. He checked her throat and her wrists, then looked horrified. "No... This isn't happening! Not her. No. I refuse to believe it! Not my precious Trudy!" Jasper lifted the body of his wife with delicacy and loving respect, then buried his face in her hair, still smelling her sweet shampoo. "Not you. You're not dead. Please wake up and tell me it's a joke. Jerome, please, call an ambulance for her. There might be a way to revive her."

Desperate to believe anything other than Trudy's death, Jerome called for an ambulance. They took the two men and Trudy's body to the hospital, where her daughter was notified and asked to visit. After half an hour, a doctor came out to see Jasper. "Mr Choudhary? You're her husband?"

"Yes. Is there a way to revive her? Is she okay?"

The doctor looked sad. "I'm sorry, sir. She was already gone by the time you men discovered her. Did she say anything to you before she died?"

Jasper was destroyed. "Yeah... She was breathing oddly, she had back ache, felt tired and sick. Aside from her odd breathing, it all seemed pretty normal. She had a back issue and it hurt her constantly. It was late, so I expected her to be tired. And she said she had a bug. I told her I wanted to see her and she told me not to, that she could look after herself. I didn't sleep, worried about her. I wish I'd ignored her and seen her."

Just then, his daughter came rushing in. "Dad! I just got the message! Is Mum okay? Jerome said that there was a possibility that she'd be okay!"

"Mae... She's gone. Jerome found her... It was too late."

"What? No. Mum's not dead. She can't be dead. It's Mum, she's the one who survives."

Jasper hugged his daughter and whispered "I don't believe it, either. Your mum's the strongest person I know."

* * *

It was all Jasper, Jerome and Mae could do. Mae called her husband and told him to bring the kids and the grandkids, so that Jasper could see his great grandchildren. Jasper asked "Why did we never get to see them? Why didn't your mum?"

"We couldn't get the time off. And it got harder as time went on. We wanted to visit, but we couldn't. Expenses were flying sky-high and we couldn't afford it. Time off was hard to get and the kids weren't allowed out of school. I wish we could have come up. I'd have loved it if Mum could have seen them."

"I know."

* * *

Jasper was going crazy. He couldn't have hated himself more. He was sick of life. He wanted his wife. He needed her. He needed the reassurance, even though he hadn't given her any. It was the night before her funeral. Ever since their wedding, all she'd said about her death is that if she died first, she'd want her grave opening when Jasper died so that they could be together for eternity, how they'd promised in their vows. He loved his wife and all he wanted was to go to her and give her the reassurance she needed. He stayed in her room that night. He took a rope from her bedside table and tied it to a rafter. He made a noose, ready to be with his wife, even though he'd been away from her. He whispered into the dark "I was a horrible husband to you, my darling wife. You deserved the best and you got treated like dirt and you have no idea how deeply I regret that. And now, I'm coming to show you the love you deserve. I'm sorry, gorgeous lady."

The next morning, Mae walked into the room she knew her parents had once shared and found her father dead. She burst into tears and her husband came running. "Mae, love, what is it?"

"It's Dad!" She sobbed onto his shoulder.

The morgue was called and they were instructed to put Jasper's body in with Trudy's. Mae helped arrange her parents' bodies into a cuddling position. "I can't believe this."

Jerome nodded.

* * *

The funeral was silent. Mae finished her piece in tears. "Mum and Dad had promised to be together forever. And though they ended up living separately, they'll be together in death."

Jerome was up next and he started sadly. "Trudy was my mother from the age of five. She was my entire world. At age eleven, she'd let me go to school, despite her wishes. She would never cry in front of us kids. It was fantastic when she invited us all to her wedding. We were all so proud of her. Jasper swore to protect her, to love her and to cherish her and I couldn't believe that someone else could love her as much as I did. He guarded her as if she was the most priceless treasure on earth. She guarded him. They were two genuinely wonderful people. Jasper would never let anyone feel bad. He would treat everyone with the same basic respect he had for his wife. But he never quite held anyone in the same high regard. Trudy was respectful of everyone, but she had Jasper on a pedestal. They were and are still incredible parents to their beautiful daughter and their son-in-law. They were and are fantastic grandparents and great-grandparents. They are proud godparents of one of my best friends. They were the best substitute parents for me. I cannot think of anyone who can ever be held in such high regard as Jasper and Trudy Choudhary, the kindest and most wonderful people this world has ever seen. Losing them means that the whole world lost two guardian angels. Thank you so much to them, to everyone in this room. They will be honoured and missed for eternity."

The couple were buried under two angels on a stone plaque. The inscription read

 _"In loving memory of Jasper Choudhary,  
19/9/1977 to 20/12/2047.  
Beloved son, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.  
You will be missed._

 _In loving memory of Trudy Choudhary,  
_ _18/4/1977 to 19/12/2047.  
_ _Beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.  
You will be missed."_

* * *

Only four years later, everyone had moved on. Nobody remembered them, except Mae and her granddaughter, Alice. Alice saw a couple, old and grey, in her room. They were holding hands and smiling at her. They seemed to be hugging and were very proud. She was almost certain she'd dreamt it, but Mae treasured it. Her parents were together again for all eternity.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for any potential feels. It hurt to write this... Anyway! This was just out of the need to write... Feel free to post your thoughts on this. x**_


End file.
